House 31
by nicolebot
Summary: Jane Rizzoli, a firefighter fighting for respect; Maura Isles, a pathology resident fighting to prove herself. Where there's smoke...
1. The Beginning

"What are you sighing about over there, Rizzoli?"

"I'm bored, old man," Jane shrugged, crossing her arms behind her head in a weak attempt to make herself more comfortable on the bed, "I mean, on the one hand I'm, y'know, _grateful_ that nothing has really come through cause that means no ones hurt or anything, but at this point I'd happily rescue a cat from a tree if it meant seeing some action." With another shrug, she glanced at the man currently seated two beds away from her. He was older than Jane by some twenty or thirty years, greying in hair and wrinkled in the face, but he was no doubt one of the best men Firehouse 31 could have asked for.

"Your realize you just insulted your lieutenant, right? Hey, I could put you to scrubbin' toilets for the next few months since you're so _bored_," he chuckled, pushing himself to stand from his bed.

"_Ha ha_, you're such a comedy genius, _lieutenant_." Despite the ribbing they constantly gave each other, Jane had to admit she was glad to be serving with Vince Korsak. He was not only a strong firefighter, but a good man and unlike Crowe and a few of the other guys in the station, he respected her and her abilities as a firefighter. He saw more than her gender.

"Sup, sis, what are you doin' in here?" Frankie Rizzoli, the newest member of the team questioned as he stumbled into the sleeping quarters, his hair and shirt matted with sweat, no doubt from being put to wash the trucks alone again. _Tough being the rookie, _Jane thought, _but he still gets more regard than I do_. It wasn't long ago that it had been Jane out there washing the trucks, but unlike Frankie she'd been on the receiving end of Crowe's taunts and obnoxious "wet t-shirt contest" jokes. And while she wasn't exactly a veteran of Firehouse 31 herself, Frankie was now the newest and so by default had become the "fresh meat".

"Just passing the time," she answered, sitting up and stretching her arms out over head for a long moment before bringing them back down, "You talk to Ma yet?"

Frankie scoffed and rolled his eyes as he pulled on a fresh shirt, "Yeah, she said she wants to host a special Sunday dinner and have us invite all the guys from the station to come down."

"And you said no, right?" Jane raised an accusatory eyebrow at her brother as the younger Rizzoli merely rolled his eyes a second time (a habit he'd picked up from his big sister) and walked on past her to head into the locker rooms. With a huff, Jane stood and followed the rookie to find him throwing his dirty shirt into his locker and grabbing a clean towel to wipe his face.

"C'mon, Janie, how was I supposed to say no?" He threw the towel over his shoulder and leaned against the locker next to him, "She's lonely, Jane, and with all that's been going on with her and Pop and Tommy in prison, we're basically all she's got. _And _we're always here working. And when you're not here working, you're thinking about work."

Even though she knew he was right, Jane scoffed loudly, "That is so _not _true and you know it, Frankie."

"Oh really?" His eyes suddenly gleamed with mischievousness, "So you're trying to tell me that when you're off shift, you _don't_ spend all your time at the gym or down at the track?" Again, he had hit the mark. Ever since joining the squad, Jane's life had come to revolve around being a firefighter. She was a dedicated and loyal person by nature and she couldn't help that she loved her job more than anything. She was also prideful, though.

"Who says I go to the gym for work? Maybe I go for _me_," Jane crossed her arms and glanced down defensively, "So I like to be in shape, so what?" She paused a moment before suddenly seeing an opportunity to turn the situation around on him. Jane patted Frankie's stomach and commented lightly, "Maybe you should try it sometime, little brother."

"Hey, I'm plenty in shape," Putting a hand over his stomach protectively and took a step back, eyebrows drawing together and bottom lip pouting out in annoyance. A silent moment passed between the two before Frankie grew solemn. "Seriously though, Janie, don't go hurting yourself just to prove something to the rest of the guys."

"It's not like it's _just_ about _proving_—"

"I know, I know, you want to make rescue squad, and you _will, _just…" he trailed off before stuffing his hands in his pockets of his basketball shorts and letting out a deep sigh, "Just don't get yourself killed trying to make squad 2, alright?"

Jane looked at him closely, considering her answer carefully, but before she could respond the sound of alarms ripped through their moment and the two were off like bullets, the conversation automatically pushed to the back of their minds as they grabbed their gear and mentally prepared for whatever may lay ahead.

They could see the flames through the window of the Beacon Hill home, the heavy grey smoke rolling out in thick waves, the color hinting to Jane that there were probably no chemical products involved. Neither the rescue squad nor Nina and Riley, the paramedics, had been called out, only the firefighters, meaning no one had been trapped inside and for that Jane was relieved. As much as she yearned to be on the rescue squad, Jane would never wish a person to be in harm's way. Shards of glass littered the lawn and from the outside the fire looked to be contained in one area of the house.

As soon as Truck 31 pulled up to the curb, the front door of the burning home was thrown open and a blonde woman came stumbling out in nude high heels and a dark blue form fitting dress. She looked to be about Jane's age, give or take a year maybe, her hair mussed and eyes gleaming with relief at the sight of the the firefighters. Jane had to keep her eyes from roaming the woman's body and felt the blood rush to her cheeks in embarrassment. _Okay, get it together, Rizzoli, you're here to do a job_, Jane chastised as she climbed down from the truck and took to helping Barry Frost, another firefighter squad member that Jane had quickly grown close to, take out and set up the firehose while the others went forward to assess the situation closer.

"Oh, thank you so much for getting here so quickly," the blonde woman rushed out frantically, putting a hand to her forehead, her eyes pausing on Jane for a moment too long before shaking her head and getting back to the matter at hand, "I can't apologize enough, I seem to have left a dish towel too close to the stove while preparing a dinner for tonight and — and —-"

She wasn't sure why she did it, but Jane suddenly reached out and placed her glove covered hands on the panicking woman's shoulders, making said woman look directly at her, "Hey, it's okay, we'll take care of this, miss."

"Maura," the woman mumbled out, bottle green eyes meeting liquid brown ones, "My name is Maura."

**A/N: I have an idea of where I'd like this story to head and this is essentially the beginning set up chapter, so let me know if I should continue please?**


	2. Chocolate Soufflé

"Yes, mother, I look forward to seeing you the next time you're in town, and again I apologize profusely for not being able to spend any time with you during this trip," Maura put a hand to the side of her head and rubbed her temple, fighting to keep the frown out of her voice.

Repressing a frustrated sigh, Maura unceremoniously (and uncharacteristically) dropped down to the couch with a warm cell phone pressed at her ear. She'd spent the past forty-five minutes pacing around her living room, embarrassedly explaining what had happened to her mother and why their dinner together would now have to wait.

_The flames had spread from the stove to the countertop to the fine wood cabinets overhead and all Maura could do was helplessly stand back and watch from the open front door as the firefighters effortlessly twisted the nozzle of the hose and force the fire into submission. After the flames had been subdued and the smoke cleared out, one of the younger men high-fived the woman squad member, the woman who's name Maura had still yet to learn. _

_Earlier, when the truck had arrived, Maura had half-ran outside to the firefighters and frantically attempted an explanation, sure that there would be repercussions or at the very least a stern yelling for her carelessness. But instead, the woman had gently and kindly put her hands on Maura's shoulders and reassured her that they would handle everything._

_"__Hey, it's okay, we'll take of this, miss."_

_"__Maura," She'd stuttered out on sudden impulse, "My name is Maura."_

_"__Maura," the woman repeated easily in a naturally husky voice, as a crooked smile graced her lips, the left side of her mouth pulling up farther than the right and revealing a deep dimple in the middle of her tanned cheek, "We've got this, Maura." _

_She'd then pulled down the ventilation mask over her face, adjusted her helmet, and headed confidently inside._

_And they did have it. Where Maura had begun to get a bit panicky, the firefighters had remained calm and put the flames out with relative ease, the nameless woman front and center of the action, keeping a strong grip on the nozzle of the hose, not wavering even once. When the flames had finally been expired, she called over to another firefighter, evidently named 'Frost', and the two were able to swiftly wrap things up. And though it was over almost as quickly as it had begun, the damage had been done. Her once prestigious kitchen was now a charred mess, the countertops and cabinets blackened and falling apart at the seams. _

_And what was worse, it was all her fault for not being more attentive. _

_"__I'm so sorry, again," Maura began, feeling the need to apologize for the umpteenth time as she leaned against the doorframe of her front entryway, hands wringing together anxiously as she eyed the destruction in her home._

_"__Hey, like Jane said, don't worry about it," the one named Frost responded with a warm smile, "Accidents happen," he shrugged._

_But all Maura had hear was the woman's name. _Jane, _she took note and let out a deep breath. _

_And then they were gone, almost as quick as they'd came. Maura had been occupied speaking to the squad's battalion chief and hadn't noticed that while the two were talking, Jane and the men were cleaning up and packing their equipment. When Maura and Chief Cavanaugh had finished conversing, he'd almost immediately bid her goodbye and climbed up into Truck 31 where the rest of his fire squad awaited and the lot of them drove off. Maura hadn't had the chance to speak with this Jane a second more in-depth time. _

_Another careless mistake she'd made that day. _

"Yes, mother, I will be looking into repair companies immediately," she sighed, "and the chief informed me that the department would be billing my insurance directly so I needn't worry too much over that."

"Honestly, Maura, it perplexes me to no end that you decide to spend your time in Boston, fulfilling your residency at _Massachusetts General _Hospital of all places," her mother chastised over the phone, "You could have had _John Hopkins, _darling, doesn't that name mean anything to you?"

_The dead will still be dead, no matter the name on the front of the building, _Maura wanted to say. But she held her tongue, as always. "I prefer Boston, mother, you know this already," she stated instead.

She heard a short sigh on the other end. "Well, I suppose that's that, then," she muttered before taking a small pause, "Perhaps you could donate a little something to the fire department, as an extra little thank you? Who knows what might have happened to the house had they not shown up on time."

"Hmm," a small smile adorned Maura's features as she thought back to the dark eyed woman named Jane, "Maybe that _would_ be appropriate."

* * *

><p><strong><em>3 days later<em>**

_Stupid Frankie and his stupid basketball bets, _Jane thought miserably as she scrubbed down the side of the rescue squad's truck, Engine 2, with a heavy yellow sponge while the others were inside enjoying a round of poker and a ball game. Dressed in long white shorts with her hair in a messy ponytail behind her head, Jane could feel the sweat seeping through her black tank top and couldn't help but curse her brother for this. The day before, Frankie had challenged Jane to a game of basketball in the front driveway of their childhood home and knowing his sister was never one to pass up a challenge, he decided to take advantage.

_"__If I win, you gotta scrub the trucks instead of me for a whole month."_

It was nearing six-thirty p.m. and she had already finished hosing down Truck 31, while grumbling frustratedly the entire time. For the past two days her mind had been drifting back to the blonde woman named Maura who's house she'd kept from burning down. The call hadn't been an extremely serious one, which meant there had been no need to linger after the flames had diminished. While loading the equipment back up, Jane had watched Maura and the chief exchange words from the corner of her eye, unable to tear her gaze away completely.

_"__Looks like someone's got the hots for the damsel in distress."_

_"__Oh shut up," Jane grumbled, pushing on Frost's shoulder, but neither the words nor action did anything to deter the man's goofy smile._

_"__How about you just go talk to her again before we split?" He goaded, smile widening even further at Jane's answering glare. _

_"__How about you just get back to work, yeah?"_

Scrubbing extra vigorously to rid her memories of that day as the sun began to set on this day, Jane decided to focus her thoughts on something realistic: her training for the victim rescue test. There were a number of obstacles Jane would need to pass, each within a given amount of time and she'd been working on her physical conditioning for what felt like forever now, but she still felt there was more that needed to be done. There was still room for improvement and Jane was ready to push herself right to the precipice and over the edge, if need be.

"Hello again," a sweet voice called out, interrupting the firefighter's thoughts.

Turning her head, Jane spotted her. Maura. She was there at the foot of their open garage doors, holding what looked like some sort of picnic basket.

"Um, hi," she responded lamely, rooted in spot crouched down next to the truck, the hand that had been scrubbing the tire pausing on top of the rubber. _Is this a dream or something? _she thought to herself, almost afraid to move for fear of waking herself up.

The blonde woman faltered slightly at Jane's frozen demeanor. "I, um," she paused, eyes awkwardly flickering back and forth, seeking somewhere to look before finally settling on the brunette in front of her, "I did some research and found that firefighters generally work twenty-four shifts and then receive forty-eight hours off and since the fire happened on a Sunday, I hypothesized that Wednesday— _today — _would be your squad's next shift and I wanted to thank you all again so I brought — I brought chocolate soufflés," Maura held up the basket as she winded down from her long-winded speech, a shy smile creeping onto her lips.

"Wow," Jane commented eloquently, standing up and tossing the sponge down into the soapy bucket of water behind her, "That was really nice of you. But you didn't have to, y'know, it's kind of our job to put out fires, hence the name," she teased lightly with a toothy smile, hoping to put the blonde at ease and calm her own nerves.

Maura rewarded her with a small laugh and a grin of her own, "While I am aware I did not _have_ to, I very much wanted to. You did save my home, after all, I should repay you somehow," she looked up at the brunette through long lashes, very much aware of what she was doing. What she didn't know was whether or not it was causing the desired effect.

Jane stumbled on her words a moment, "Well, uh, yeah, that-that's really nice of you, Maura," she raised her arm and rubbed the back of her neck with her left hand, a nervous habit she'd picked up from her father, "How about I show you to the kitchen so you could hand 'em out to the guys and if you're interested maybe I could, y'know," she paused, grabbing her tank top from the bottom and lifting it to wipe the sweat from her brow, not missing the way Maura's eyes lingered on her exposed torso, "give you tour of the station or something."

The two stood smiling at each other for a moment before Maura nodded, "I would like that, but there is still one slight issue."

"And what's that?" Jane questioned in that raspy voice, mouth twitching into a frown as she released her shirt and let it fall back onto her stomach, not bother to smooth out the wrinkles.

"I still have yet to receive a name from you," she stated playfully. It wasn't a lie; she'd heard the name from Frost, not from the woman herself.

"Jane," the brunette wiped her left hand on her shorts and held it out to Maura, "Jane Rizzoli."


	3. Offer

"Wow, this is so good, Maura," Jane commented after taking a rather large bite of the soufflé. Maura beamed with pride at the compliment, green eyes gleaming brightly. They were seated at the kitchen counter side by side, knees brushing against each other, while Jane and the men enjoyed their desserts.

Jane had taken the basket from Maura before taking her gently by the wrist and leading her inside the station. The interior was similar to that of a cozy apartment, complete with a small kitchen, a long rectangular dining room table, and a couch and television set. Jane had introduced Maura to everyone with a hand on her shoulder.

_"__So these guys here are on the fire squad with me; this is my brother Frankie, Vince Korsak, our lieutenant, Barry Frost, and Darren Crowe," she pointed to three men seated around the table, the other one (Crowe) seated on the couch. Maura made her rounds of handshakes and polite hellos and the men had wasted no time in digging into their treats, before Jane continued, "And, uh, these other goons are all rescue squad; lieutenant Martinez, Joey Grant, Gabriel Dean, and, uh, Casey Jones."_

_Maura went to shake the hands of the four rescue squad members, who were just as equally into their pieces of chocolate soufflé, two of them (Grant and Dean) seated comfortably on the couch, the other two at the table. Maura couldn't help but notice strained tone in Jane's voice when she introduced her to Casey, and even as the man bid her a warm hello and thanked her kindly for the dessert there was unease in Jane's eyes as she watched the interaction. _

After the introductions had been made, Maura and Jane had settled themselves in the small kitchen area while the everyone else went back to their own activities; everyone except for Barry Frost who kept throwing subtle glances and sheepish smiles their way. Had Jane not been so enticed by the blonde woman next to her, she might have thrown him the middle finger.

"Did you know the word soufflé is the past participial of the French verb _souffler,_ which translates to 'to blow up' or, when use more loosely, 'to puff up'? It's an accurate description of what happens in the recipes when the custard and egg whites are combined," Maura suddenly rambled, feeling nervous now that it was just the two of them more or less alone.

"No, I did not know that, but I'm glad I do now," Jane smiled, bringing another bite to her lips. Normally Jane would have made a sarcastic remark (or several) by now, but she could sense the sensitivity and nervousness in the woman next to her and the last she wanted was to make her feel even more anxious. For her part, Maura breathed a small sigh of relief with a dimpled grin of her own at the answer, as she had been afraid Jane would make fun of her impulsive facts or deem her weird and cut their time short. She could feel her cheeks twinge pink at the kindness.

"How about that tour now?" Jane abruptly suggested, pushing her chair out and standing up.

"Sure," Maura nodded, standing as well, "Lead the way."

* * *

><p>"That there is the chief's office," Jane gestured to a closed door on their left as she lead them down a wide corridor. There was large window to the right of the with open blinds and Maura paused in front of it, looking in to see the man she'd spoken with the day her kitchen caught fire. He was sat at a large desk, a phone at his ear and paperwork littering the space in front of him, "I would take you in to say hi, but he's been pretty busy today," Jane apologized, rubbing the back of her neck.<p>

"Oh, that's quite alright, I understand," Maura assured her, turning back Jane, "So what's next on the tour?" she asked playfully, teasing smile on her face.

"Well, if you'll follow me down this way," she placed a hand on the small of Maura's back and lead them down further until they reached a large open room containing fifteen or so beds, each with a nightstand and a lamp. Between each bed was a three foot wall to divide them, presumably for privacy.

"These are the sleeping quarters," Jane announced, stopping them in the doorway for just a moment to let Maura soak it all in before leading her three beds down, "And this one here is all mine. Or, at least, it's all mine when I'm on shift," she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her shorts and watched as Maura tentatively sat on her bed and began to run her fingers over the cotton sheets, her eyes focused on where her fingertips trailed as if inspecting a piece of fine art. _She does look good on my bed… _Jane thought to herself before clearing her throat in an attempt to clear her mind.

"So, uh, what about you? What do you do for a living?" Jane asked, not daring to sit on the bed next to the alluring woman.

Maura tore her eyes away from her tracing and looked up at Jane, "Oh, I am a second year pathology resident at Massachusetts General Hospital," she stated proudly.

"Wow," Jane raised an eyebrow, "A doctor. That's really impressive. How come pathology?" she questioned with genuine interest.

"I am going to become a medical examiner," Maura's gaze flickered downwards for a second, some of the pride lost as she seemed to tense up a bit.

"That's amazing," Jane responded immediately, finally giving in to her desire to sit on the bed next to the blonde, "Y'know, if I hadn't made the squad here I would've headed straight into the academy and worked my way up to homicide detective."

"Really?" Maura sat up straighter, the light returning to her eyes.

"Yeah," Jane nodded with a lopsided grin, resting a hand on Maura's knee, "Bringing closure to the families and loved ones of victims, it's an amazing aspiration, Maura. You're gonna do great."

Maura could only sit there, momentarily stunned. Her parents, the men she'd gone out with, the women she'd gone out with, none of them could ever grasp her motives. They all thought her strange for dreaming of working with corpses all day and even her own mother made no secret of wanting her daughter to switch to a more elegant specialty. But this stranger understood. She knew.

"Thank you, Jane," she said softly, hoping to convey all she was feeling in those three little words. And again, Jane knew.

"You're welcome," Jane whispered just as softly.

They let the moment end in comfortable silence, neither daring to move or breathe.

Letting out a deep breath, Jane finally broke the cocoon of quietness around them and asked playfully, "Would you like to continue on with the tour, mi'lady?"

"I would love that," Maura murmured in reply, just barely resisting the urge to take the brunette's hand in her own.

* * *

><p>"This here is Truck 31, the fire squad's truck," Jane patted the side of the rig as they walked past it, "and the rescue squad's Engine 49," she patted the front of the truck and went to lean against it, watching as Maura ran her fingers over the hood of the engine similarly to the way she did with the bed sheets. "Ambulance 6 got called out just before you stopped by, otherwise I would've introduced you to Nina and Riley, our paramedics."<p>

Maura noted a longing in Jane's tone as she introduced her to Engine 49, but she wasn't sure if they knew each other well enough for Maura to broach the topic. Instead, she smiled appreciatively and looked up at Jane coyly through her eyelashes, "Well, there's always next time," she said slowly, trying out a colloquial saying she'd heard before.

"I guess there is," Jane teased, folding her arms over her chest, "Um, so what's happening with your kitchen? I mean, have you looked into repairs yet?" she tried her best to sound casual, but knew the awkwardness was rolling off her lanky frame in waves.

"Oh, well I've only researched a few companies thus far," Maura started, "but I would like for the remodel to happen as soon as possible and preferably as quickly as possible. There are quite a few places to research though, so I am afraid the process may be lengthy."

"I could do it," Jane quickly offered, straightening her posture before realizing the eagerness in her voice and clearing her throat, "Ehem, I mean, uh, if you wanted, I could. My pop was a plumber and something of a handy man and I used to do a lot of construction with him around the house, so, it's just an option I thought I'd throw out there."

Maura couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her at the firefighter's adorable distress and reached out to place a comforting hand on Jane's arm.

"Jane, I think that sounds like a lovely offer, one I'd very much like to take you up on. When can you begin?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Let me know what you think?**


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